BONAIRE: --- The integrity of employees within the justice system is an important prerequisite for trust in the rule of law. Justice personnel have access to sensitive information, often hold far-reaching powers, and work in positions where reliability is essential. For that reason, careful, timely, and complete screening is of great importance.

The Law of Enforcement Council has conducted an investigation into the screening of justice personnel in the Caribbean Netherlands. The investigation focused on the Public Prosecutor’s Office BES, the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force, the Caribbean Netherlands Correctional Institution, the Caribbean Netherlands Child Protection Board, and the Caribbean Netherlands Probation Foundation.

The Council concludes that the current screening of justice personnel at the organizations investigated in the Caribbean Netherlands falls short and entails significant integrity risks. The current legal and organizational framework for screening no longer meets the requirements that justice organizations may and must set for a careful, timely, and complete assessment of the reliability of current and future employees. As a result, integrity risks cannot be fully identified, including on a periodic basis. This leads to unacceptable vulnerabilities that put pressure on the functioning and credibility of justice organizations in the Caribbean Netherlands.

It also occurs that employees start work before the screening process has been fully completed. As a result, individuals without complete screening may gain access to confidential information. The Council also notes that existing legal possibilities are not being used sufficiently. For example, police data are not included in the assessment of a Certificate of Good Conduct in practice, even though this is possible under certain conditions. In addition, the Caribbean Netherlands does not have a variant of the Certificate of Good Conduct based on police data, while such a more stringent form of screening has already applied in the European Netherlands since 2022 for certain positions within justice organizations. It also occurs that employees start work before the screening process has been fully completed. As a result, individuals without complete screening may gain access to confidential information.

Regarding the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force, the Council observes that the ministerial regulation that should have further elaborate reliability investigations — a more stringent form of screening specifically for the police — is still lacking. The Council qualifies this as negligence on the part of the Minister of Justice and Security, who is also the administrator of the police force. As a result, there is still no elaborate and legally safeguarded framework available for the screening of police personnel. Consequently, most police officers have not yet undergone this form of screening.

According to the Law of Enforcement Council, central direction is also lacking. The organizations involved endorse the importance of this and recognize the current limitations of screening in the Caribbean Netherlands, but in practice it is insufficiently clear who is responsible for what. The Council therefore calls on the Minister of Justice and Security to take central direction and to make clear and binding agreements with all parties involved.

Partly in view of the conclusions and the risks identified, the Council will closely monitor the follow-up to the recommendations and keep itself informed about progress.

The inspection report can be read on the website of the Council for Law Enforcement:
https://www.raadrh.com/reports-bes

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) arrested five male suspects during the early hours of Wednesday, July 1, 2026, during a patrol in the Dutch Quarter area.

At approximately 3:30 a.m., police officers conducting routine patrols along Brasilia Road observed a black Hyundai i10 carrying five male occupants. Officers became suspicious after noticing that two of the men inside the vehicle were dressed entirely in black and had their faces covered.

Given the unusual circumstances, officers decided to stop and inspect the vehicle. Due to the number of occupants and in the interest of officer safety, additional police patrols were requested to assist at the scene.

Acting under KPSM's stop-and-search authority, as well as the provisions of the Firearms Ordinance and the Opium (Drugs) Ordinance, officers conducted a thorough search of both the occupants and the vehicle.

During the search, officers discovered and confiscated a firearm along with several other items believed to be intended for use in criminal activities. As a result, all five occupants were immediately arrested.

The suspects, identified by their initials J.A., F.F.L., S.R., G. de l. R., A.M.N., and V.J.R.,  were transported to the Philipsburg Police Station, where they remain in custody for questioning pending the ongoing investigation.

The firearm, the additional items recovered during the search, and the Hyundai i10 have all been seized as evidence.

Detectives are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this case, including the firearm's origin and the suspects' intentions when they were stopped.

KPSM continues to intensify proactive patrols across the island as part of its ongoing efforts to prevent violent crime and ensure community safety and security. The Police Force encourages the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity by contacting the police dispatch center at +1 (721) 542-2222 or the anonymous tip line at 9300.

The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission launched a three-part Gender Mainstreaming Staff Training Series on June 15, 2026, reinforcing its commitment to integrating gender equality across all areas of work. The initiative will equip Commission staff with the knowledge, analytical tools, and practical skills needed to apply a gender-responsive approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of programmes and policies.
Aligned with the OECS Commission Gender Policy (2022), the training will incorporate interactive case studies, practical exercises, and a Gender Marker scoring simulation. This represents a significant step toward strengthening institutional capacity and embedding gender considerations throughout the Commission’s regional development agenda.

The training series also forms part of the broader gender mainstreaming mandate of the Eastern Caribbean Sustainable Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems (EC-STEMS) Project. The project is implemented by the OECS Commission and funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through the Caribbean Action for Resilience Enhancement (CARE) Programme. The CARE Programme is financed by the European Union (EU) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)–EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Programme.

The project supports sustainable land management, community livelihoods, and marine ecosystem restoration across six beneficiary Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The series will be delivered monthly from June to August 2026. They will consist of three interactive sessions covering the Foundations of Gender Equality and the OECS Commission's Gender Policy, Gender Analysis in Practice, and Gender Mainstreaming and Accountability.
Highlighting the importance of the initiative, EC-STEMS Project Coordinator Leshan Monrose stated:
"Gender equality is not a standalone objective. It is embedded in how we design and deliver every activity under the EC-STEMS Project. This training will ensure our team has both the understanding and the tools to translate that commitment into meaningful action, whether supporting beekeeping livelihoods in Dominica, strengthening conch fisheries in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, or advancing eco-tourism initiatives in Saint Lucia."

Reflecting on the intended impact of the series, Gender and Community Liaison Specialist Cordia Chambers-Johnson noted:

"Success will be measured by a shift in perspective. Staff should be able to look at any project design or project activity and instinctively ask, who is included, and who might be left out? That shift in thinking, from gender as a checklist to gender as a lens, is what transforms good intentions into equitable outcomes for the communities we serve."

The training series underscores the OECS Commission’s recognition that institutional culture change is essential to achieving the gender equality outcomes envisioned under the EC-STEMS Project and the wider regional sustainable development agenda. It also aligns with the CDB’s 2026–2035 Strategic Plan by strengthening institutional capacity to advance inclusive, equitable development.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Megaleios Communications + Consultancy has published How to Fix a Utility Company, a governance white paper examining N.V. GEBE as a live case study in utility governance, reliability, public trust, financial transparency, and institutional recovery.

When a utility company struggles, the damage is not limited to engines, invoices, or boardrooms. It reaches homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, workers, investors, and the confidence people place in public institutions.

The paper brings together reports, headlines, court cases, complaints, policy documents, and public information to provide a wider view of the crisis facing GEBE. Its purpose is not to attack anyone, but to help shift the conversation from blame to repair.

“As a researcher, I kept noticing the same patterns across government-owned companies on St. Maarten: instability, weak oversight, public frustration, and accountability gaps,” said Ralph Cantave, founder of Megaleios Communications + Consultancy. “There was a need to bring the facts together in a way that offered clarity, depth, and understanding.”

The paper argues that the cycle of instability, billing chaos, power outages, and accountability failures at GEBE is a governance problem, not only a technical one. It also makes a clear point: new engines are necessary, but they are not enough on their own.

A sustainable utility recovery also requires stable leadership, a competent and independent Supervisory Board, current audited financial statements, credible tariff information, structured complaint handling, lawful accountability, and a realistic plan for energy and water transition.

The paper provides a practical public framework for resolving the crisis. It is written for current and future leadership, the regulator, Government, Parliament, and the wider public. It also supports public discourse from an informed position and sheds light on factors and perspectives that have not always been considered.

The paper was prepared over approximately three weeks through research, review, drafting, and refinement, including reports, policy documents, articles, and publicly available information. It has also been sent to key stakeholders because the conversation must move from frustration to repair.

How to Fix a Utility Company is not an official audit report and does not provide a formal audit opinion. It is a public-interest governance paper intended to support clearer decisions, stronger accountability, and institutional recovery.

A utility turnaround is not a single procurement exercise. It is a governance reset, a financial reset, a communication reset, and a public trust reset.

The paper is now publicly available on LinkedIn via: https://tinyurl.com/fixgebe